Two princesses, a CEO and a dog
by Misura
Summary: Mokuba drags Seto along to a costumed ball. [Mokuba?, SetoJoey, ?Shizuka, hints at other pairings]
1. The CEO and the princess

Two princesses, a CEO and a dog

*

Warnings/notes : Mokuba/Shizuka, Seto/Joey, slightly silly, slight hints at other pairings.

Disclaimer : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. This plot is slightly similar to the one I used for 'The mutt and the butterfly' but I hope the similarities won't bother anyone. ^^;

written at 29th october 2003, by Misura

For Riah-chan, who asked for Mokuba/Shizuka and the line "What are our brothers going to think of this?". :)

**********

__

the CEO and the princess

It probably wouldn't surprise anyone to hear that Seto Kaiba did not, in general, like going to parties. Especially not parties at which the guests would be people like Yugi Mutoh and his friends. Nonetheless, Mokuba had set it in his head that Seto would attend this particular one. And what Mokuba wanted, he usually got.

"Absolutely not. I refuse to waste a night in some silly costume, pretending to have fun." Seto glared at Mokuba, who smiled back sweetly. "I have much more important things to do. At least three projects need to be finished within the next two weeks."

"But Seto," Mokuba replied, "you promised that you'd work less. And no one needs to know it's you. That's the fun of a dress-up party."

"Who says I care about whether or not people know it's me?" Seto demanded. "I'm simply too busy."

"Come on, Seto. It'll be such fun!" Mokuba gave his older brother a weak version of the puppy eyes, saving the real thing for later. "I'd almost think you were *scared* to go," he added slyly.

"I'm *not* afraid of that mutt! He means nothing to me!" Seto burst out. Mokuba managed not to smirk. Not too much anyway.

"Oh? Joey is coming too? I didn't know that," Mokuba stated innocently.

Seto opened his mouth, closed it again and finally settled for : "Of course he'll be there. He's always following Yugi around. Plus, he'll want to keep an eye on his precious sister."

"Uh-huh." Mokuba nodded. "You're probably right. So I guess you'd better be careful who you'll ask for a dance, hadn't you? You might end up dancing with Joey all night without either of you realizing it." 

Seto looked pensive at that, apparently not yet having considered that possibility. Mokuba grinned. The odds of convincing Seto to agree to go to the party with him seemed to have become pretty good. And he hadn't even had to use his 'secret' weapon yet ...

"I suppose one night wouldn't make that much of a difference. If it means so much to you ... " Seto said finally, still with the slight frown of a person who knows he has been shamelessly manipulated but can't quite figure out how.

*****

It had been ridiculously easy to spot the mutt. He was wearing a dog-suit, the same one Otogi had forced him to wear once. Seto thought it was a stupid choice, but that was Joey for you. The blonde probably hadn't even considered if wearing such a costume to an occasion like this one would be practical. Likely, he was deeply regretting it now, with the party getting rather crowded, causing the temperature in the room rising over what Seto would term 'comfortably warm'.

The rest of Yugi's friends was equally easy to find, some of them not even having bothered with a costume to hide their identity. At least, Seto wouldn't really call the two pieces of clothing that allowed Malik Ishtar to claim he wasn't 'illegally indecent' much of a costume.

The platinum-haired Egyptian was dancing with what appeared to be Ryou Bakura, the most quiet and thus least annoying member of Yugi's little group. He was wearing his normal, day-to-day garb. Perhaps he was in the disguise of a 'shy teenage-student' or something.

Next to swirl past were Ryuuji Otogi, decked out like some sort of elf, complete with quiver and bow, and Honda Hiroto, who looked distinctly uncomfortable in his costume of a rogue. Or perhaps, Seto mused wryly, it was the way Otogi kept getting all over him that made him squirm so much. The fool should have known better than to go anywhere with Otogi if he was so shy.

Anzu Mazaki was dressed up as a dancer, her partner causing Seto to blink once, before checking the person who was with Malik once again. They looked exactly identical, with the same long, white hair, the same color of shirt ... Seto decided that one of them had to be wearing some sort of mask.

Yugi himself was dressed up in some sort of slave-costume, a bit less revealing than Malik's, but rather daring just the same. He was accompanied by that distant cousin of his, who had turned up a few months ago and seemed to have no intention of leaving any day soon. Seto liked Yami even less than Yugi, especially because of the arrogant glares the boy sent his way ever so often, as if he considered himself to be better than Seto.

Yami was dressed like an ancient Pharaoh, with golden bracelets and a fitting head-dress. Seto supposed it suited both his character and went nicely with Yugi's own costume, although the general impression presented by the pair of them was more that of two lovers than two relatives. Still, that was Yugi's problem, not his.

The only person he didn't manage to discover right away was the mutt's sister, Shizuka or something. Maybe she hadn't come after all. No matter, it wasn't as if Seto cared. He hardly even knew what the girl looked like.

Mokuba had found someone to dance with soon enough, after Seto had assured him that he himself didn't have the least objection to being left alone. He was glad Mokuba had something on his hands now, other than trying to get him to enjoy himself. The kid meant well, of course, which was why Seto put up with it, but it was somewhat annoying just the same.

At least one advantage of a masked ball was that nobody wanted to dance with either of them because of who or what they were (namely, the very, very rich Kaiba-brothers). It had to be one of Mokuba's reasons for wanting to go here so badly, while he abhorred the business-parties Seto was obliged to visit every now and then.

Draining the last of the fruit-juice in his glass, Seto began to slowly make his way to where the mutt was standing, leaning against the wall with a slightly melancholic expression on his face. It was an unusual sight to see the blonde without his usual goofy smile or a sparkle in his eyes.

In fact, Joey didn't even look up at Seto's approach. It might have been simply not hearing him, but somehow, Seto doubted that. It seemed the mutt wasn't in the mood to party, in spite of the presence of a richly filled buffet of free food.

Ah well, Seto wasn't in much of a partying mood either. Though it might be nice to dance a bit, to feel what it was like to hold Joey, to press their bodies closer together under the safe excuse of a tango or waltz. And it could never hurt to ask, could it? He had nothing to lose except for a bit of pride.

"Would you like to dance?" His voice was clear, untrembling. Good.

Joey's head rose slowly, his honey-brown eyes taking in Seto's costume with a hint of suspicion, before the blonde shrugged.

"Why not? As long as you don't suck my blood."

~to be concluded in the second part~

A/N : Yes, Seto's costume is that of a vampire, classy and stylish. It just seemed to fit him. -_-;


	2. The princess and the dog

Two princesses, a CEO and a dog

**

Warnings/notes : Mokuba/Shizuka, Seto/Joey, slightly silly, slight hints at other pairings.

Disclaimer : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. This plot is slightly similar to the one I used for 'The mutt and the butterfly' but I hope the similarities won't bother anyone. ^^;

written at 14th november 2003, by Misura

Thanks to the people who reviewed the first chapter :

To youko-moon : Sorry, not much dancing-scenes. Hope you'll like it anyway. ^^; Thank you!

To Macduff's Mistress : Thank you! : )

To Leaf Zelindor : You are actually able to do homework while hyper? Kudos to you! And thank you! : )

To Hush Puppie : ^_^ Thank you!

Seto : Watch who you're calling 'little'! 

To hieiandkuramalover : Uhm, is it really *that* unpredictable what's going to happen? ^^; Ah well, here's the next chapter. Thank you! : )

To Suppis Tenshi : Lots of Joey and his thoughts in this chapter, which I hope will answer your question. Thank you very much! ^_^

To DarkShadowFlame : The 'two princesses' does indeed refer to Mokuba and Shizuka. ^^; Even if Mokuba's not dressed up as one, I'll always remember him that way. As to the pairing of him and Shizuka … it's for the request, mostly. I may write a second one, considering this fic doesn't have all that much of them, while they were the requested pairing, but … I just don't *see* Mokuba in love. He's too much fixed to Seto's side in my mind. And then there are Otogi and Honda …Thank you very much! ^_^

To Kaira-chan : Hm. I always pictured Legolas as a blonde actually. ^^; So it was a … coincidence? Proof I lack originality? Thank you! ^_^

To Ril : You'll find out next chapter! Thank you! : )

To Anime-Ali : *glomps the plushie* Thank you! I know the masquerade isn't very original but … it's such a handy plot! ^_^;

To optimistic girl94 and Romennar : Thank you for the encouragement! : )

To Star Light Shadow : You'll find out in this chapter. Hope you'll like it! Thank you! ^_^

To Fire Dragon of Darkness : Only bordering? ^^; Thank you for your kindness! ^_^

To Icy Flame : They are both rather cute, aren't they? Thank you! : )

To hsg9 : Thank you! : )

To EternalDarkFlame : Hmm, so would I. From a safe distance, of course. ^^; Thank you! : )

To Yamis-Girl202 : Sorry, my imagination is limited. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too. Thank you! : )

To s.h.i.r.o.i.k.e.t.s.u.k.i : Anzu's partner will be revealed in the next chapter. Thank you very much! ^_^

To The Chaotic Ones : Yes, since that *was* the request after all. ^^; Thank you! : )

To HikariChang : o.O;;; Uhm … glad to hear you liked it! ^_^

For Riah-chan, who asked for Mokuba/Shizuka and the line "What are our brothers going to think of this?". : )

**********

_the princess and the dog_

He should have known better than to bet with Otogi, the self-proclaimed favorite of Lady Luck. Or at least have been smart enough to make the stakes something small, something unimportant. Of course, that would also have taken some of the fun out of winning, but the pleasure of actually beating Otogi at anything would have been more than enough.

Instead of being obliged to wear this stupid dog-suit, he could have picked something nice to wear. Something that didn't make him feel all hot and itchy. Something that would knock a certain ice-eyed CEO off his feet if he'd see it.

Under the present circumstances though, Joey was glad Kaiba hadn't shown up yet. To have the other see him like this and make some hateful dog-jokes was all that lacked to make this evening the worst he had ever been through. 

First Shizuka had danced off with some small superhero, complete with cape and mask. While Joey didn't object to his sister enjoying herself, he did like to know who the people she did it with were and what, exactly, they wanted from her. Shizuka called him 'over-protective', but Joey preferred to consider himself merely more world-wise than her. Thus, it was his job to keep creeps away from her. Shizuka was simply too nice and innocent to know who to trust.

Next, Otogi's mysterious date, about whom he had been talking all week, had turned out to be none other than Honda, that dirty traitor! His 'friend' had even had the gall to show up in the costume Joey had picked for his own, before that incident with Otogi and the bet.

And lastly, to top things off, some sexy vampire was dancing with him, making him feel even hotter and itchier in this silly costume and just generally making him feel uncomfortable with himself.

Because in spite of the suit hindering his movements, he was beginning to enjoy the sensation of the other's body against his own and the way their paces seemed to match almost naturally. And he wasn't supposed to enjoy being close to some stranger at all.

Admittedly, it was stupid to be in love with someone like Kaiba. Someone who had made it abudantly clear on many occasions that he didn't care about Joey at all. But still ... it was something reliable. Something he had believed to simply be a part of his life. He was in love with Kaiba, Kaiba hated him, and that was that.

Joey liked his life to be clearly defined and simple. There might be things he'd have preferred to be different, of course, yet he had learned to deal with those. 

"Is something wrong?" his partner asked. Joey noted for the first time that the obligatory fake teeth were missing. Absurdly, it made him want to giggle. It was probably the heat getting to him.

"Nah, just getting a bit tired." He shook his head.

"Shall we sit down for a while then? I could get us something to drink. It's nearly Midnight anyway."

Joey nodded gratefully, wondering if he knew the person behind the dark-blue mask. A few times, he had been reminded of Kaiba, but then again, nearly anything and anyone reminded him of Kaiba sooner or later. And Kaiba would never go to a party like this one, let alone ask him for a dance or offer to get him a drink.

Ah well, at Midnight everyone would take off their masks. Then he would know.

*****

Shizuka smiled at the small superhero who was sitting next to her, sipping from his glass of orange-juice. She had felt a bit guilty about accepting his invitation for a dance earlier, but since she had seen Joey dance past, looking quite happy in the arms of some elegantly dressed nobleman, she had decided that there was no need for her to do so anymore.

She hoped her brother would find someone nice behind that mask. While she didn't exactly disapprove of his crush on Kaiba, she had to agree with Joey that there wasn't very much hope of the haughty CEO ever returning his feelings. He was better off with another person to love.

Of course, 'love' was probably a bit too much to hope for after one night of dancing and talking, but it was a start. Like the one she had made with the superhero. She didn't know his name yet, but he had told her some things about himself. She had told him some things about herself in return, and they had found out that they had quite a lot in common.

Not just facts, like how they both had a big brother and liked chocolate chip cookies, but also feelings, mostly about their brothers and how annoying and stubborn big brothers could be every now and then. 

Her little companion also had a sense of humor a lot like hers, making her laugh with him as if they had known each other for ages, rather than just a few hours. If she hadn't known better, she'd have suspected him to be someone she knew already, but all of her friends and acquaintances were visible elsewhere.

"You know, I think I'd really like to meet you again after tonight." 

She smiled. "Even if we haven't even each other's faces yet?"

He made a dismissive gesture. "I like you. Why would I care about the way you look? There are plenty of people who look pretty, while they're real creeps."

Shizuka chuckled at his animated gestures, stressing that last part. "Well, I have to admit that's true. And I think I'd like to meet you again too."

"Really? Cool!" He beamed at her, causing her to chuckle again.

"I should warn you though. My brother is really paranoid. He'll probably try to interrogate you as soon as he hears we're meeting."

The superhero snorted. "I'm sure he's not half as bad as *my* big brother. I'll be lucky if he'll even let me go somewhere unattended."

Shizuka laughed again. "That sounds a lot like J- "

Fortunately for her, the sound of the bell drowned out the name that would have given her identity away a few seconds too early. It rang twelve times, to indicate that it was Midnight, and time to take off the masks.

~*coughs* to be concluded in the (short) third part ^^;~


	3. Two princesses, a CEO and a dog

Two princesses, a CEO and a dog

***

Warnings/notes : Mokuba/Shizuka, Seto/Joey, slightly silly, slight hints at other pairings.

Disclaimer : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. This plot is slightly similar to the one I used for 'The mutt and the butterfly' but I hope the similarities won't bother anyone. ^^;

written at 19th november 2003, by Misura

Thanks to the people who reviewed the second chapter :

To youko-moon : Mokuba is twelve I think, while Shizuka is somewhere around ... fifteen? As to reactions ... read and find out! Thank you! :)

To Lady Geuna : Hope this chapter'll be worth the wait! Thank you! :)

To Hush Puppie : Read and find out! ^_^ Hope you'll like it! Thank you! 

To hsg9 : Kudos to you! :) I did my best, thank you!

To HikariChang : ^^; Awww, it wasn't *that* big a cliffhanger, was it? Thank you! :)

To hieiandkuramalover : *picks up the cookie and is immediately assaulted by her Yugi- and Mokuba-muse* Thanks for the cookie! I hope you'll enjoy this last chapter. :)

To Leaf Zelindor : Thank you! ^_^

To Huggable chibi! : Thank you! :)

To lostlover1 : Well, the mask Seto's is wearing hides his face, mainly. It's not a part of his disguise ; that he's a vampire shows in his clothing which is like belonging to 'an elegantly dressed nobleman' (Shizuka), while his mask is 'dark blue' (Seto) and covers the upper half of his face. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well ; no cliffhangers this time, I promise! ;)

To The Chaotic Ones : Well, originally this fic was supposed to be a two-shot ... Thank you! :)

To Ril, alostblackcat, Sweetbriar and shadowscream : Thank you for the encouragement! :)

To Hidden Dreams : ^^; Thanks? Hope you'll like it anyway.

To apocalipticoblivion : The 'juicy part'? ^^; Well, here it is. Thank you! :)

To tari-chan : Thank you! I think their brothers are almost as cute though ... ^^;

To miki-moon78 : I did, thank you! :)

To Romennar : Here it is, I hope you like it! Thank you! :)

To Kaira-chan : Surprising? Why? I feel like *anyone* could predict what's going to happen ... Thank you! ^_^

To JoeyWheelerKaiba : This is the first place I posted this so ... maybe a similar story? I've been told the plot isn't very original ... ^^; Thank you! :)

To Suppis Tenshi : Well, actually Joey *can* feel it, only he *thinks* about it and decides his guts are *wrong*. Sometimes thinking about something just isn't the best of ideas ... Thank you! ^_^

To Star Light Shadow : Aww, it wasn't *that* bad a cliffie, was it? Thank you! :)

To Icy Flame : ^_^ Hope you had a good vacation! Thank you very much! (A 'cornball'? *giggles*) 

To Yamis-girl202 : Sorry. ^^; This chapter will wrap everything up, I promise. Thank you! :)

To Somnia Lustre : *Of course* there'll be a happy ending! Thank you! :)

To Crystal Blaize : Ah, but that *was* the chapter of 'The princess and the dog' after all, not 'The princess and the CEO'. And who *doesn't* love Seto? ~.^ Thank you! :)

To DarkShadowFlame : *blushes and beams* Thank you very much! ^_^

To nekomoongirl : Three days after your review ... pretty soon, ne? Thank you! :)

To A. Hailan : Uhm, sorry but this *is* the last chapter. I hope you'll like it. Thank you! :)

*

For Riah-chan, who asked for Mokuba/Shizuka and the line "What are our brothers going to think of this?". :)

[!] Note on names : Ryou Bakura is adressed as 'Bakura'.

[!] Warning : Malik being single-minded (and no, he's not thinking about soccer), a kiss.

**********

_two princesses, a CEO and a dog_

*

Seto stared at Joey, not a hint of the slight uncertainty he felt showing in his eyes.

Joey stared back, his jaw dropping. Seto wryly thought the blonde apparently was as stupid as he had often accused him to be. Surely a simple mask wasn't *that* good a disguise?

A blush creeping up his face, the blonde lowered his gaze to the floor, seemingly embarrassed by the discovery of his partner's identity.

*

"Oh, it's *you*! I'd never have guessed." Yugi giggled, lifting his head to press a kiss on Yami's lips.

Yami blinked, slightly taken aback by this uncharacteristic straightforwardness, before deciding he rather liked it. For once, anyway.

"No? You'd have danced with *anyone* like you did with me? I'm hurt." Yami smiled. 

Yugi beamed back. "I was only joking. Of course I knew it was you."

"Of course. Who else would dare to touch you and risk my wrath?" Yami grinned.

Yugi chuckled. "You're way too protective of me sometimes."

"I'm merely ... possessive." Yami corrected him. "And I think we should go home now. It's quite some hours past your usual bed-time." 

"Hmmm, you're bossy too. But I love you anyway."

"You can't imagine how glad I am to hear that."

*

"Don't you think they make the cutest couple?" Anzu asked her companion, staring with a fond smile after Yami and Yugi.

The white-haired boy made a gagging sound. "That silly Pharaoh and his midget cute? They make me sick with that cooing and snuggling in public. I'm glad they're gone and that this party's over."

Anzu sent him a puzzled look. "But Bakura ... I thought you ... you never said anything like that before."

'Bakura' shrugged. "Maybe it's because I'm not really Bakura. This *is* a costumed party after all. And my hikari made it very clear he'd whine at me all week if I didn't show up in a disguise as well. So I did."

"For him, eh?" Anzu chuckled. "So you're not such a tough guy after all."

'Bakura' glared at her. "I did it because it sounded like fun. That weakling boyfriend of yours has no influence on what I do and don't do whatsoever, make no mistake."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Anzu replied cheerfully.

'Bakura' stared at her suspiciously. "I'd advise you not to mock me. People who do tend to end up in the Shadow Realm. And now, I'll be grateful to leave your company, before Malik does something stupid."

"I had a good time. You really should come to parties more often," Anzu called after him brightly.

She didn't quite catch his grumbled reply. Which might have been for the better.

*

"How about we go to my house now so that I can fix the fact that you're dreadfully overdressed for a *real* party?" Malik asked.

"How about we don't?" Bakura replied, dodging Malik's attempt for a hug. He wondered if perhaps his other half had neglected to warn him about a certain kind of food having a rather ... energizing effect on the blonde egyptian. At least, he assumed Malik wasn't like this all the time.

"What's wrong with you?" Malik demanded. "You've been acting ... *shy* all evening."

Bakura shivered, recalling what he had allowed Malik to do already, for the sake of his disguise. "There's nothing wrong with me," he said firmly.

"Yes there is!" Malik sulked. "You're just not your usual self."

"That's because I *am* not who you think I am." Bakura rolled his eyes. They had been here before, but Malik didn't seem to get it.

"He's not me!" came a voice from behind them. 

Bakura couldn't remember having ever been happier to see the owner of that voice. He even went as far as to give his other half a smile, which was blithely ignored. Not that he had expected anything else.

"Ah. Uhm ... great disguise, Bakura. Do drop by if you ever get ... lonely or something." Malik winked, earning a whack from his lover and a blush from Bakura.

"I should have warned you not to let him eat any chocolate." The other Bakura sighed. It wasn't much of an apology. Still, it was *something*.

*

"Disappointed, mutt?" Seto sneered, the other's silence getting on his nerves a little.

"That you still call me a 'mutt' after spending a whole evening with me? Yes. But not that it's you," Joey replied, lifting his head to return Seto's gaze.

*

"I should have known. There aren't *that* many people who were invited for this party as small as you," Shizuka blurted out, blushing as she realized what she had just said.

Mokuba grinned ruefully. "At least I'm taller than Yugi. And I'm younger too, so I'll probably grow some more over the years."

"I'm sure you will," Shizuka responded warmly. "And really, you're not that shorter than me. Just, well, shorter than Joey."

"He'll tower over me anyway for daring to want to date his sister." Mokuba said lightly.

Shizuka laughed. "Like *your* brother isn't going to glare at *me* for wanting to go out with you."

"They're not going to be easy about this, are they?" Mokuba sighed.

Shizuka sobered. "Do you really think it's going to be that bad? I was kind of joking earlier, really. Joey means well, and I hope he's just going to be happy for me but ... well, he doesn't seem to like Kaiba much."

"What *are* our brothers going to think of this?" Mokuba looked less than happy. "I don't know. Seto's all crazy when it comes to Joey."

Shizuka giggled. "That almost sounds like he's in love with him!"

"Well ... " Mokuba hesitated, not sure if he ought to entrust his knowledge on *that* subject to Shizuka. Then he saw the two people at the other side of the room and began to grin. "I don't think we need to worry much about our brothers hating each other anymore."

Shizuka followed his gaze and flushed. "I think you're right. That's ... nice."

*

"Really? The puppy likes its master?" Seto asked, his lips twisting upwards in a smirk.

"Oh, shut up, Kaiba. Yes, I like you. There, happy now?" Joey growled.

"Mind your temper, pup. And don't bite me. I promise I'll bite you back." Seto whispered, leaning in closer.

Joey opened his mouth for a reply, only to find he was unable to speak. Not that he minded much.

For some unfathomable reason, Seto Kaiba was quite a good kisser.

~OWARI~


End file.
